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The critical lens on today's culture & entertainmentSat, 10 Dec 2016 02:19:25 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Interview With Pinball Designer Cameron Silverhttp://blogcritics.org/interview-with-pinball-designer-cameron-silver/
http://blogcritics.org/interview-with-pinball-designer-cameron-silver/#respondFri, 06 Mar 2009 07:50:17 +0000When we first approach pinball designers we don't expect to get a response starting "I've been following your blog for some time and really enjoy it", but that was the case with this week's Pinball Heroes guest! If he already reads The Pinball Blog then he must know how it works, or perhaps he was softening us up to ask for a fee or maybe, just maybe, we could push our luck a little further than we have before.

Let's try…

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Pinball Blog proudly presents Cameron Silver, who was employed at Bally/Williams in the nineties and worked on titles such as Scared Stiff and Cirqus Voltaire.

So you're Cameron Silver. The way I see it is you worked your nuts off on pinball machines and then John Popadiuk put his name on them?

Well everyone worked their nuts off, at least on the games I was involved with. They really were team efforts, and I never encountered anyone who slacked off or didn't pull their weight. So on Cirqus John and I sat down and laid out the playfield together, but then he went away and did the real work to actually design a buildable product. Anyone can sketch a ramp here, or some bumpers there, but it takes a mammoth amount of work and skill to actually build something that shoots well.

I'll add here that I gave Cameron an alternative question in case the first one was a bit too blunt and he kindly answered that one as well!

Whose idea was the display under the glass on Cirqus Voltaire?

The location of the display was not new, since Capcom had a display there for Flipper Football in 1996. Whether John had thought about this before is something that I honestly do not know, but when he suggested it to me I didn't hesitate to jump on-board. We actually talked briefly about mounting the display flat and reflecting it off an angled piece of glass (ie: like Asteroids Delux and Pinball 2000); it would have allowed us to do some neat tricks, but would have been quite expensive.

We did have a "Digital Multiball" mode in the game for a while – using the same idea from the video mode in Theatre Of Magic. The display served as a second playfield, and the idea was to knock down all targets to get the jackpot. You'd shoot physical balls into the display by shooting the loops, and could have up to all three balls on the display at once. It was pretty cool! However to do it properly would have required turning the ball-popper into a three-ball lockup (with three additional optos and more metal), which was too much money to devote to one single mode that wasn't really related to the theme at all.

How stiff were 'Team Stiff' when meeting Elvira?No comment!

Actually she was amazing to work with, a lovely person who really loved pinball. She had loads of fun recording speech for us (a lot of it being improvised on the day), and added a huge amount of personality to the game.

Which machine did you most enjoy working on, and which was the most challenging?

The machine I most enjoyed working on was definitely Cirqus. First of all it was the first game I was involved with right from the start, and second of all it began with John unrolling a blank sheet of paper and asking the team "So, what game should we make?!". Considering that less than 12 months prior to that I was a college kid/tech in Australia dreaming about pinball, it was unreal.

Most challenging was Star Wars. The technical challenges have been discussed numerous times, but for me there were personal challenges too. The biggest thing for me was being locked away, separated from the rest of engineering. I don't care who you are, you can't design a good, balanced game in a vacuum. I mean this honestly when I say that Star Wars actually turned out pretty close to our original vision, but I still think it could have benefited from outside influence. Still it sold at least three times more than Cirqus and remained in the Top 10 charts for close to a decade, so I probably shouldn't complain too much.

What started with an email to Dwight Sullivan turned into employment in the pinball industry, the stuff of dreams for many of us! I guess the chances of that happening today are pretty slim. Apart from the suit and haircut, what advice can you give a wannabe pinball designer in their quest for employment?

First would be patience, the second would probably (unfortunately) be to find another way to pay the bills. I certainly don't think that pinball is dead; but it's so tiny that even if it quadruples in size, it will still be tiny. I'm in coin-op video now (which I love), but even that is minuscule.

The Pinball Blog is known for its vast knowledge of programming(!) 10. PRINT "The Pinball Blog is da best". 20 GOTO 10. Did pinball programming change over the years with technology or were the basics the same throughout?

Things didn't change that much through the WPC years. In fact it's possible to take the very latest WPC operating system (which we called A.P.P.L.E), and re-build the Funhouse code to run on it. Things obviously changed a lot when we started working on Pinball 2000, which was all C++ and PC motherboards, etc. Even though WPC was a tiny 2mhz 6809 processor, that has been the absolute favorite development I've done (admittedly a big part of that is the final product).

Was there a machine you worked on that never saw the light of day?

I don't know if it qualifies but I worked on a redemption game called Ticket Tac Toe when I first started at Williams, and we only built about 100 of those; despite the fantastic earnings. Local pinball enthusiast Rush Luangsuwan and I added a custom built gumball dispenser to TTT for Pinball Expo 2007.

More recently, I just finished working on a coin-op, green-screen, video karaoke booth (themed to American Idol) that we were unable to produce due to music licensing issues. A huge shame considering the amazing amount of work (18 months), incredible technology, and long list of "It's impossible" we were able to overcome.

I personally prefer Star Wars Episode 1 to Revenge from Mars but some might say I'm in the minority (or stark raving bonkers). When people ask why one Pinball 2000 title is more 'popular' than the other I tell them the cost of the license influenced the budget for rules on SWE1, but to be fair, I completely made that up! Am I anywhere close to the truth?

Short answer: no. Long answer (for me anyway) is that I don't like either titles. Revenge is just too dark; I can't see the playfield. Episode 1 has vastly improved lighting, but I'm not a fan of the mode-based rules structure. I feel that both games hold the ball too much, and both over-use the display; however I understand that it was intentional to over-use the display in order to show it off (Episode 1 actually uses up less image space than Revenge). Amazingly though some people still don't "get" that platform, which really boggles my mind.

Wizard Blocks had lighting that was a vast improvement over Episode 1, and a much more pinball-like ruleset.

Who that you met during your pinball career was the most influential to you, and who are you still friends with today?

Working with Steve Kordek on my first game (Ticket Tac Toe) was amazing, and I thoroughly enjoy catching up with him a few times a year. Working with programmers like Ted Estes, Larry DeMar and Tom Uban really shaped what type of programmer I have become today, and I remain close friends with all three. I still see Tom several times a week, and chat with Ted and Larry almost daily.

Dwight Sullivan opened my eyes to the amazing world of game mechanics, and is still one of my dearest friends. (Coincidentally as I type this, I can hear our testers playing "La Grange" on Guitar Hero Arcade. Anyone know what pinball machine used that song? Hint: Dwight programmed it…)

I think they probably do know!What does Cameron Silver do to pay the bills today?

I currently work at Raw Thrills, which is one of the largest coin-op game houses around. We are headed up by Eugene Jarvis, and have released the Fast And The Furious driving games (three of them), Nicktoons Racing, Big Buck Hunter, and Guitar Hero Arcade which is rocking seriously hard.

Finally, can you sum up your involvement with pinball in one word or sentence.

Yes.(!)

And there you have it, an interesting interview and hopefully more of what you guys want to read. Many thanks to Cameron Silver for being such a great sport and answering some pretty tough questions!

Cameron was already reading The Pinball Blog which is just great, so if YOU'RE reading and you're a pinball designer or contributed significantly in other ways to the industry drop me a line and we'll hook you up. Or if you're a regular Joe like me, then let me know who you'd like to see interviewed on Pinball Heroes and we'll try and hunt them down!

]]>http://blogcritics.org/interview-with-pinball-designer-cameron-silver/feed/0An Interview With Pinball Designer Dwight Sullivanhttp://blogcritics.org/an-interview-with-pinball-designer-dwight/
http://blogcritics.org/an-interview-with-pinball-designer-dwight/#respondThu, 19 Feb 2009 07:06:28 +0000Dwight Sullivan has been involved in the design of some iconic pinball machines including Star Trek: The Next Generation. He's worked on a lot of machines, from Riverboat Gambler in 1990 to the recent Pirates of the Caribbean and possibly one of the defining machines of modern pinball history — The Lord of the Rings. We're pleased to present Dwight Sullivan as the next in our series of Pinball Heroes.

So you're Dwight Sullivan. You've designed some great pinball machines over the years and written the software for others (I guess you knew that). Can you tell us which machine you are most proud of and why?

It has been no secret that I am most proud of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was an excellent project from start to finish. Real quick here are the reasons it was great for me: great team (you cant make a great game without a great team), I am huge sci-fi fan and a fan of Star Trek since I was 5, we got to go out to Paramount to see the Enterprise up close, I got married during the project, Steve and I got fired during the project, I think the final game is lots of fun, and we captured the theme extremely well.

You've written some fascinating stuff with a nice turn of phrase about pinball on your blog. Have you always had a passion for the written word, or was it your accumulating life experiences that you thought perhaps needed to be shared?

I have and both. As I got older I realized that two things were happening. My brain was filling up and my capacity was shrinking. So I found a need to write things down just to help me remember them. Not really to share but I don’t mind if others read it. Also since I was little I have enjoyed making up stories but like many of my hobbies I have never really given writing the proper amount of time to become good at it.

On a licensed pinball machine, how much influence does the license holder have over the design? Are they able to insist on certain elements or do you share the progress as you go and hope they like it?

Early in the discussions with the licensor, after it's clear that both parties are interested, we show them a playfield drawing and explain to them what we want to do. This is when they will typically make suggestions about design aspects. After that, the licensor only sees our art and speech progress as we develop the game. We show them our dot-matrix animations, playfield art, speech scripts, then the recorded speech, backglass art, plastics art, and cabinet art. All as soon as we can. They always get to see the final package before production but I don’t remember them stopping the production. That would be devastating to us so we make sure that isn’t going to happen.

Meeting which person would you say has been the highlight of your time in pinball?

I have met quite a few people; celebrities both inside the industry and out. But the question is easy to answer; Steve Kordek is the man I am most glad to have met.

In five years time some say there'll be no pinball, others say it'll still be here, just different (we hope so!). But what about in 30 years when all the current collectors are old and grey, and there's not a huge generation of new players to collect the things?

Wow thirty years? Who could answer that? Do you have any machines at home and do your family play?

I have several machines at home: Revenge from Mars, High Speed, Road Show, Terminator 2, WHO dunnit, Star Trek: The next Generation. My kids and their friends play them often.

If you hadn't been involved in pinball, any idea what you'd be doing today?

No idea. I was pretty lucky to land in game development and many times I have thought, “They are paying me to do this?”

Do you look forward to Expo and all those questions (a bit like these!), and how often do you have to plead the 5th to something posed from visitors?

My favorite part of Expo is giving the tour at the factory. Sadly I will not get to do that any more. I never minded all the fans and their questions. I actually like talking to outsiders because it really helps ground the design process in reality. Adds perspective and helps prioritize the real issues.

Other than pinball and writing, what makes Dwight Sullivan tick?

I am a family man first; I love my wife and kids and to do things with them. Beyond that I love games next. All types of games. One of my many hobbies is designing board games.

Finally, can you sum up pinball (or your time involved with it) in one word or sentence?

Pinball has been a large part of my life. I often measured time by what game I was working on when this happened or that.

Many thanks to Dwight Sullivan for taking the time to answer our questions. More Pinball Heroes coming soon.

]]>http://blogcritics.org/an-interview-with-pinball-designer-dwight/feed/0Pinballhttp://blogcritics.org/pinball/
http://blogcritics.org/pinball/#respondWed, 18 Feb 2009 12:49:29 +0000You can't beat a game of Pinball. We don't mean those simulated computer things, we're talking about real Pinball. Bumpers, flippers and tilts. Wood, metal and plastic, and of course those frustratingly uncontrollable silver balls. From the early flipperless machines, through electromechanical and early solid state, to the all-singing-and-dancing latest releases from Stern Pinball. A rich history of machines with an even richer history of people and their involvement.

]]>http://blogcritics.org/pinball/feed/0A Conversation with Keith Elwin, the Greatest Pinball Player on Earthhttp://blogcritics.org/a-conversation-with-keith-elwin-the/
http://blogcritics.org/a-conversation-with-keith-elwin-the/#commentsSun, 15 Feb 2009 15:55:14 +0000Over on The Pinball Blog we've interviewed some great guys from the world of pinball. Our growing list of Pinball Heroes includes pinball designers Steve Ritchie, George Gomez, and John Trudeau, historians and authors Roger Sharpe and Gary Flower, Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame owner Tim Arnold, and more.

But what about people who play the damn things?

Well, you can't get better than the best of the best and here on Blogcritics before anywhere else, The Pinball Blog is pleased to bring you an interview with the greatest pinball player on earth, Keith Elwin.

So you're Keith Elwin, officially the best pinball player in the world. Don't you ever wish you could have a 'quick game' of pinball when there's five minutes left of your lunch break?

Well, I suppose I can't complain but yes, I do enjoy playing the older, drainier machines which I can finish in a few minutes as opposed to the new Sterns where the ball doesn't even fit in the outlanes.

What's the most you ever earned in a year playing pinball and how much do you think you spent in travel and accommodation to earn it?

Hard to say because there are also prizes. A guesstimate would be around $15,000.

When did you realise you were particularly good at pinball, and when did you realise you were the best on the planet?

I guess when I was around 10 or 11 I would win a lot of bets with the adults at the arcade. I remember the girlfriend of some guy told me to go away because he was obsessed at trying to beat me on Black Knight.

Anything else you're any good at?

I have won awards for photography and I used to be a pretty good baseball player back in the day.

I guess there's no way up from being ranked number one but do you think you're still improving as a player?

Not really. I really hardly play anymore given the poor selection of route games in the San Diego area — unless a tourney is coming up. And when I do play it is for fun, I really don't practice much. But a couple weeks before a tourney I will turn it up.What do you do 9 to 5?

I do graphic and web design as well as work on pinballs.Ever trash talk to your rivals when they're in the finals?

Yes, the Sharpe brothers and myself have a nice rivalry going. I don't really talk trash to Bowen because that guy scares me when he gets in a zone.Any words of advice for an aspiring world champion?

You must see the same faces in the final rounds of several tournaments, and judging by the pictures it's a relatively young crowd. Do you all hit the bar together each night? Ever won a major prize with a stinking hangover?

Yep, most of the people who have been playing a long time have become friends. We don't all go to the bar together but often hang out and talk pin. Night before a major tourney I am usually on my best behavior… but two years ago in Vegas at the AMOA IFPA tourney I was pretty blasted from the night before and put up 500+M on Spiderman in the finals.

Finally, I always ask our Pinball Heroes to sum up pinball in one word or sentence.

SOS, time to think outside the box with some fresh talent and ideas.

Many thanks to Keith Elwin, who despite being the greatest pinball player on earth, seems really quite normal!